Category: Sackville’s Memorial park

From an informative article by Ms. Danielle Greyman-Kennard, published in the Jerusalem Post on July 13, 2026 (https://tinyurl.com/4kfz4a2r), Bambi learned that Dr. Sharona Ross, a Florida-based advanced foregut and hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgeon was supposed to give an online talk at the Lebanese Society of General Surgery’s 27th annual Spring Conference earlier in July. However, after complaints, she was disinvited from remote appearance at this medical conference. Guess why? Because she completed her two-year mandatory service with Israel defense forces (IDF) before migrating to the USA.

As explained by Ms. Greyman-Kennard, “under Lebanese law, it is illegal for Lebanese individuals to communicate or have contact with Israelis under the 1955 Anti-Israel Boycott Law and the Lebanese Penal Code. This law is applicable to contact with Israelis who hold a second nationality” (https://tinyurl.com/4kfz4a2r).

Is there anything more sad and absurd than such a cancellation in a country facing a severe shortage of specialists like Dr. Ross, given all the concurrent tough circumstances in Lebanon (e.g., financial crash, coronavirus pandemic, Beirut explosion, wars, etc.)?

Why are we allowing politics, and blind applications of old laws that deserve to be repealed soon, to limit the surgical HPB research and practice in the Land of the Cedars? How would this sad and uncivilized disinvitation solve Lebanon’s war-related problems with Israel? How would it contribute to bring more scientific prosperity to it? Does it really matter in which birth country this Florida-based speaker was born? How would this be relevant to her presentation? What did Lebanon gain by preventing attendees from benefiting from her 20+ years of medical experience?

According to India Today, as shown below, Mr. Khameini Jr. has declared that Lebanon’s Hezbollah is a “strategic mandate” of his country.

From whatever location you may be reading this post dear readers, please take a moment to pause and think of the following: Imagine that this individual is allowing himself to talk on behalf of your own country (or birth country); not of Lebanon specifically. Do you find his comment to be acceptable?

Imagine that this individual’s regime has been funding a militia composed of your own fellow citizens (i.e., not the members of your country’s army). Perhaps also imagine it funding the construction of tunnels, under your own houses, possibly also near some touristic sites of your beloved country? Imagine also this regime ordering the militia group in question to start wars with neighbouring countries primarily to “strategically” serve its interests? This may take the form of sending missiles across borders or with other military actions here or there. How would you find this reality?

Regardless of your answers, this is the sad reality that Lebanon has been enduring for decades. To this, there is now the harsh Israeli military response and re-occupation. In addition to massive destruction, there are HIGH war-related mortality and morbidity rates. All this suffering and endless grief of the Lebanese people, for what or for whom?

Torn among all the powerful regional forces, Lebanon is struggling hard to survive. Will it finally succeed in becoming truly free to decide its own fate?

May the tiny yet beautiful Land of the Cedars succeed in defending its interests while eventually having more respectful, and ideally harmonious, diplomatic relationships with all the nations, in its neighbourhood and far away; of course, these nations include both Iran and the USA.

May war end soon in the entire Middle East, and especially in Lebanon. May safety, healing, reason, peace, prosperity, and love know how to prevail. It is about time.

On August 4th 2026, Beirut will remember its catastrophic double port explosion of about 2,750 tons of poorly stored ammonium nitrate.

As as a reminder, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut port blast resulted in the following: 228+ victims, 7000+ injured residents (some of whom were toddlers; others, including parents, are still in a coma), 800 regular floor admissions as well as 130 intensive care unit admissions, 300,000 instant homeless people, 150+ permanent disabilities, massive city destruction, total destruction of four hospitals, and US$15 billion worth of damage.

Four months ago, Judge Tarek Bitar concluded his investigation and referred its long file to the public prosecutor (https://tinyurl.com/3eykxynw). As reported by Mr. Claude Assaf in L’Orient Today on March 30, 2026, “more than five years after launching the investigation in February 2021 into the deadly explosion at the Beirut Port (Aug. 4, 2020), Investigating Judge Tarek Bitar, attached to the Court of Justice, has finally concluded his inquiries.This comes at the end of a long and arduous process, marked by legal appeals filed by political figures implicated in the case, obstruction by the courts tasked with reviewing these appeals, and legal action brought against Bitar by the former prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, Ghassan Oueidat, who is also implicated” (https://tinyurl.com/nhju2t6c).

There are only ten days left before the sixth anniversary of Beirut port’s criminal negligence, is the file back to Judge Bitar by now? If so, will he issue his indictment sometime soon?

Whether justice will be served or (likely) not, as argued in older posts, Judge Bitar is a peace HERO. Bravo for his inspiring courage and uplifting independence.

As for the families of the innocent victims, Bambi sends them her heart. May the memory of all their loved ones be eternal.

Bambi was 9 years old when Mr. Enrico Macias’ song, “Tous les soleils de l’amitié” [All the Suns, or All the Sunshine, of Friendship] was released. What a refreshing song!

Mr. Macias is right, friendship brings a shining light to our lives. On the evening of Katia’s birthday, this post features his song and shares a quick English translation of its beautiful lyrics, with the assistance of Mr. Google Translate.

Katia, Bambi is blessed to have you in her life for over 35 years now. Thank you for our precious friendship and for who you are. Mr. Macias’ song is meant for you today, starting with your personalized “Happy Birthday”.

Since we met, together, we have sadly seen our beloved Middle East going from one war to the next. Although we cannot change our troubled world with a magical stick, there will always be hope shining from within our shared humanity and uplifting friendship. With much love 💚 Bambi wishes you a Happy Birthday. Have fun tomorrow!

All the suns of friendship

“Sing with me that everything is fine

Even if it isn’t, it doesn’t matter

There is still reason to hope

In all the suns of friendship

Wake up, life is beautiful

And if your heart is troubled

We’ll offer you, to help you forget

They predict the end of the world for tomorrow

But I don’t agree

People never trust one another

That’s a mistake

It’s not because of a few rebellious men

That we’re going to lose hope

We’ll end up showing them the door

Sooner or later

Sing with me that everything is fine

Even if it isn’t, it doesn’t matter

There is still reason to hope

In all the suns of friendship

Nothing should stop us from being happy

And dreaming however we please

The rain doesn’t worry the pilgrim

On the journey

The earth isn’t about to stop

If we keep it turning

It’s loneliness that kills love

These days

Sing with me that everything is fine

Even if it isn’t, it doesn’t matter

There is still reason to hope

In all the suns of friendship

Wake up, life is beautiful

And if your heart is troubled

We’ll offer you, to help you forget

All the suns of friendship

Sing with me that everything is fine

Even if it isn’t, it doesn’t matter

There is still reason to hope

In all the suns of friendship

Wake up, life is beautiful

And if your heart is troubled

We’ll offer you, to help you forget

All the suns of friendship”.

Have you ever heard of Anfeh, dear readers?

Anfeh is a charming coastal town located 65 km north of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.

According to Lebanon Traveller’s website (https://tinyurl.com/4bm9jhy9), Anfeh is known as “Little Greece”. Indeed, it is often nicknamed “Lebanon’s Mykonos” because of “its blue-and-white seaside chalets, crystal-clear waters, and fresh seafood restaurants“.

What a picturesque place to celebrate one’s wedding anniversary. Happy celebrations Rania & Rabih 💙. Alef Mabrouk to you. Enjoy the precious family time and love to Karen, Stéphanie, and Georges (both of them!). Lots of Joy to your hearts. These heartfelt wishes come from Bambi, your maid-of-honour [if you sill recall, after decades : )].

The Berberys’ family day is also a day filled with familial love: Happy Birthday to both Joumana and Fatma 💙💙. “Akbel el Mieh” & “Zum Geburstag viel Glück”!

In addition to music, this post ends with a couple of pictures and videos taken and generously shared by Rania, upon Bambi’s request. Bravo for her artistic talent and long live Lebanon’s beauty.

May natural beauty, healing, relaxation, peace, and love prevail in the land of the Cedars and worldwide, especially in Dubai and Germany respectively!

Do we usually issue threats when we are weaker and desperate? Or do we mean the warnings before an actual use of power or capacity to still use control? Regardless, a high Hezbollah official made the following statement during an interview: “No more planes will land in Beirut, and no more ambassadors will remain in Lebanon” (https://tinyurl.com/2a2mbevs). All this apparently delusional drama to defend the interests of the Iranian regime, not his own country, can you imagine?

Of note, Mr. Joseph Aoun, his spouse, and a couple of advisors travelled several miles to meet Mr. Trump. This meeting was considerate “excellent” by Ms. Nada Hamadé, the Ambassador of Lebanon in Washington, as you can see below:

Indeed, a cordial Mr. Trump pledged to “help” Lebanon and the Lebanese Army with concrete plans. As for President Joseph Aoun, he was grateful and he even mentioned the promising, even if still highly challenging, long-term goal of the framework agreement, namely the end of the state of war between Lebanon and Israel forever.

May peace FINALLY prevail in the Land of the Cedars and in all its neighbouring countries, including both Israel and Syria. Same for the more proximal countries, including both Iran and the USA and all the other countries of the region. Enough of absurd wars and power struggles. Enough of drones and tunnels. Enough of occupations and modern forms of colonization. Enough of hate and revenge. We want love to have the final word among and within nations.

As Mr. Trump said today about Lebanon: “Again, it’s been a very badly treated place and country, and we’re going to have it properly treated with the respect that it deserves” (https://tinyurl.com/2a2mbevs). Bambi has no clue how this statement could ever become reality. Nevertheless, having the latter officially stated about her birth country brought tears to her eyes. It is about time to see Lebanon truly psychologically, morally, and military sovereign.

Of course, Lebanon needs lots of support, especially from much more powerful countries like the USA. However, at the end of the day, it is by respecting ourselves that we teach others how to respect us. May Lebanon keep acting with self-respect, by taking sovereign decisions, and may it attract the respect of both its citizens and all the other nations.

Dr. Gábor Lukács, president of Air Passenger Rights (https://tinyurl.com/nhpv2tze) said the following: “the federal government wants to change how your air travel complaints are handled, and it is a massive win for the airlines. To clear the 97,000-case backlog, Ottawa is proposing to hand over public complaint adjudication to private entities handpicked by the airlines. Your dispute could soon be decided by an airline-picked judge whose livelihood depends on the airline’s goodwill and ongoing business relationship” (https://tinyurl.com/368mw9w5).

Many thanks, Dr. Lukács for your clear explanation of how this new plan affects each one of us, as consumers. Your outstanding YouTube video also ends with helpful suggestions “on what to do to fight back“: https://tinyurl.com/3e8ycru8 .

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, “the Northumberland Strait is a tidal water body between Prince Edward Island and the coast of eastern New Brunswick and northern Nova Scotia” (https://tinyurl.com/39nftsps).

Compared to the more impressive tides of the nearby Bay of Fundy [12.192 to 15.24 meter (40-50 feet) range], the tides on Northumberland Strait are in the 2.4384 to 4.572 meter (8-15 feet) range (https://tinyurl.com/ynwuxf73).

However, even if these tides are not as high, they go VERY far. This results in a highly warm water, due to the many daily sun hours warming the exposed Atlantic ocean sand (https://tinyurl.com/ynwuxf73). At low tide, one can either walk or bike on the bottom of the ocean. At high tide, one can swim in the warm water. Regardless of the tides, it is highly rewarding to take the time to appreciate this beauty—one moment at a time.

If you are interested, below you can find two pictures, taken by Bambi a few hours apart, of the same spot on the Northumberland Strait from the side of the Amherst Short in Nova Scotia. Is there anything more majestic and magical than Canada’s nature?

 

Yesterday, Lebanon and Israel concluded another round of talks in Rome, agreeing on the implementation steps for “two pilot zones” in the occupied South Lebanon. There could be a virtual follow-up to those US-brokered talks on Friday (https://tinyurl.com/yc3kdbfj).

Do you happen to have an opinion about these talks, dear readers? And what do you think about their potential success, especially when the Hezbollah keeps stating that it “will not hand over the weapons” (https://tinyurl.com/ys22xmez)?

She does not know about you, but Bambi is convinced of the following: to solve problems, especially complex ones, it is necessary to keep the communication channels open. This solution-oriented approach applies to personal, professional, public, and even to war-related contexts.

For her, just having Lebanon and Israel coming together to listen to each other and to talk is a little miracle in itself. Even if the framework agreement between these two neighbouring countries is not perfect in all its clauses, the will to communicate seems to still be there. More significantly, there is a joint will to experiment to try to solve matters.

It takes much courage to talk to your “enemies” or “occupiers”; surely more than talking to your spouse or friends. It also takes courage to want to trust another neighbouring country, which is still far from being sovereign in its political decisions or on the ground.

To move forward, it is wiser to build bridges of communication than to dig destructive tunnels. We saw where decades of violence have led us. So for the sake of the innocent people in Lebanon and for those on the other side of the border, good luck to the Lebanese-Israeli talks. All the best also to the cause of peace in the longer term, despite the unnecessary collective grief and the significant challenges, both locally and regionally.

Thirty 33 years ago, French singer Leo Ferré left our world. May his memory be eternal.

One of Mr. Ferré’s most beautiful songs, “Avec le temps” [With Time], is inspired by a breakup. There is an English translation of its lyrics online (https://tinyurl.com/ydj59fn5).

Of note, “Avec le temps” was translated into several languages, namely English, Arabic, and Hebrew. Many great singers performed Ferré’s famous song with much talent. Which performance do you prefer, starting with the original (subtitled in English) shared below?